Kary Booher columns: Stop harping on Allen, football

An open letter to Kary Booher: You do write well. I'll give you that, but I won't cut any slack in what you write.

You came to town and immediately began to push your negative attitude about Missouri State football and Coach Terry Allen. You harp on the negative, when a hometown newspaper might better have made a responsible effort to stimulate a turnaround in fan support and community attitudes.

Springfield has long been a basketball town. I once asked a well-known local sports figure what he knew about football and he said, "Is it round? Do you dribble it?" That represents the attitude of many locals, but we have grown to the size that we surely can support more than basketball.

To add confusion to the condition, the board hired Kyle Moats as athletic director. Now we have another newcomer making decisions for our community. He was selected for his ability to influence financing, and early on outsourced the funding activities. Now we have money coming from a new fee to be charged to students. Being a longtime sports fan, I am appalled at how money-driven sports have become. Even at the high school level, playoff sites are being selected based upon predictions not only of fan support but also with major emphasis on anticipated ticket sales.

So, Mr. Booher, if you learned journalistic ethics at Oklahoma State, put your negativism on hold, be objective, and don't remain in the position that a newcomer needs to control decisions about the future of football in what is the hometown of a whole bunch of folks before you ever showed on the scene.

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Kary Booher columns: Stop harping on Allen, football

An open letter to Kary Booher: You do write well. I'll give you that, but I won't cut any slack in what you write.